Education

Research Interests

Regulation of CB1 cannabinoid receptor signaling

Regulation of endocannabinoid production

Role of endocannabinoids in synaptic plasticity

Novel cannabinoid receptors

His research program focuses on cannabinoid receptors, the cell surface receptors responsible for most of the psychoactive and therapeutic actions of cannabis. His group uses a variety of techniques, including electrophysiological, molecular, immunological, and imaging, to better understand how cannabinoid receptors signal and how their signaling interacts with other cellular processes. Much of the current work in his lab centers on endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), compounds produced by the body that interact with cannabinoid receptors. These molecules have been implicated in processes as diverse as memory, analgesia, anxiety, schizophrenia, and obesity. One of the recent results from his group suggests that cannabis produces some of its effects by blocking the normal actions of endocannabinoids. This contrasts with the mode of action of opiates, which appear to produce their psychoactivity by mimicking the effects of endogenous opiates (endorphins).